What can cause conjunctivitis, Conjunctivitis is a common eye ailment that affects hundreds of thousands of people each year. It causes inflammation along the front layer of the eye, known as the conjunctiva.

What can cause conjunctivitis

What can cause conjunctivitis, Conjunctivitis is a common eye ailment that affects hundreds of thousands of people each year. It causes inflammation along the front layer of the eye, known as the conjunctiva.

What can cause conjunctivitis | what answered

What can cause conjunctivitis

What can cause conjunctivitis, Conjunctivitis is a common eye ailment that affects hundreds of thousands of people each year. It causes inflammation along the front layer of the eye, known as the conjunctiva. The eye gets swollen and some symptoms emerge including watering and itchiness. Conjunctivitis is common referred to as red eye and is a highly contagious eye problem. Usually, people suffering from red eye are quarantined. In some cases, the infection is accompanied by a sticky coating on the eyelashes. There are no known treatments for conjunctivitis and it goes away after a week or so. Here are some of the common causes of conjunctivitis.

Age

Age plays a crucial role in the development of infections, including conjunctivitis. Infections are most likely to affect people who have weak immune systems. This means that children and elderly people are at the greatest risk of suffering from conjunctivitis. Children don’t have a completely developed immune system while for the elderly the immune system grows weaker with age.

Irritants

There are a number of irritants that can damage the conjunctiva if they come into contact with the eye. Some of them are products that are used regularly by people, such as shampoo. There is a chance that a person develop red eye because of shampoo getting into the eye. The other irritants that may trigger a bout of conjunctivitis are chlorine (from swimming pools) and fumes.

Foreign Objects

If any foreign objects come into direct contact with the eye, they may cause conjunctivitis. It could be purely accidental, such as a pen or ball hitting the eye. On the other hand, people who wear contact lenses regularly or have had stitches on the eye can also develop conjunctivitis. Around 1% of all cases of conjunctivitis are caused directly by contact lenses.

Person-to-Person Contact

Conjunctivitis is contagious and can easily be spread from person to person. Spending too much time with a person who has red eye can also lead you to suffering from this infection. It is strongly recommended that people who have conjunctivitis isolate themselves from others. Using the same towel used by an infected person, touching or kissing and sexual intercourse are further ways conjunctivitis can be spread from one person to another.

Other Infections

The emergence of other bacterial infections might lead to conjunctivitis. This is because most of the bacteria that cause conjunctivitis are similar to the ones that cause cold and flu. People suffering from infections in their upper tract are likely to develop conjunctivitis as well. They are highly vulnerable and even going near a person with red eye will cause them to get it.

Medication

There are certain medicines that are strong and can weaken the immune system. This is true for a majority of the steroids used to treat infections and viruses. This is why it is imperative that you consult your doctor before consuming any medication. It could expose you to conjunctivitis.

These are some of the most common causes of conjunctivitis. It is better to prevent the infection rather than having to live through the pain.

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